Lead Codex Hoax Again

Some journalists deserve a box on the ear

Being a journalist must be very difficult. You read all kinds of words that you do not understand, like “radio carbon testing”. So many syllables! That is more complexity than any human can handle, so you will be forgiven when you write

Preliminary lab results indicate that a collection of metal books unearthed in northern Jordan may indeed represent the earliest Christian texts ever discovered, according to experts.

According to the Department of Antiquities (DoA), initial carbon tests to determine the authenticity of lead-sealed metal books billed as the greatest find in biblical archaeology since the Dead Sea scrolls have been “encouraging”. (Source)

Carbon testing. Of an object made of lead. Sure. It’s like that notorious gaffe of Zahi Hawass, who referred to a C14-date of an object made of stone.

For those who do not have a dictionary: archaeologists use radiocarbon dating to estimate the age of organic remains.